I happened to see this article the other day, after a rash decision to read this "paper" (sic) forced on me by the hotel. I thought it was obviously a hack, since stimulus spending is controlled by individual states or budget formulas. Yet, it also shows the media bias, not left or right, but to just poor reporting.

Gold Member

The Brainwashing starts long before anyone is old enough to read a newspaper. Ever read an American history textbook?

Is USA Today part of the News Corp group by any chance?

Media bias and inaccuracy happens on both the political left and right. But lately, say the last fifeteen years or so, the right seems much more brazen about it.

Some of the projects I've been involved with in my profession have been written up in trade journals. The inaccuracies in the stories have sometimes been quite astounding. On the technical side of the project they get the info wrong and when they write about the backgrounds of the people involved, they get it all wrong. Last year our Project Manager was described as being educated at the University of Glasgow. However he's never set foot in Scotland!

My father is very well known in is field and there have been numerous articles about is work in magazines. It's laughable how wrong they can be. Every thing from his nationality to is education to the details of his work. He has refused to give interviews for the last twenty years.

My point is, knowing how a reporter can screw up simple stories like those, has made me very sceptical of any news the broader media presents. Just look at the BS they fed us in the run up to the Iraq war.

It's all relative. I have worked in the news media for many years, and have been amazed to see first hand reports, in both tv and print, (where I was also present), drawing such fallacious conclusions that I had to wonder if the reporter was really even present. Unfortunately, the new media alternative, blogging, is even worse, as no prior experience is necessary (or even being present), and no editor will touch them.

With ad budgets down, and print journalism clueless about how to make money off their internet content, there are fewer senior reporters left, who can properly string together the events of today with those of the past, and understand their future implications. Regarding media reporting, like any subject, it pays to look at it from all sides, and that often means reading multiple sources.

In the case of USA Today, their reporting has been suspect from almost day one. The current article is no surprise. I enjoy the Guardian Weekly these days.

With regard to stimulus spending, it's no surprise that the states that pay the most in Federal taxes get the least. Fed spending has been this way for decades, and is so entrenched, it will take years of Federal and State reforms to address.

excuse me while I yawn, Poindexter ... "bias" is inherent in all human perception

the important thing is to recognize it in what one is saying, as well as to what is being delivered to one -- which is why it was so important to impart critical thinking skills in our educational systems, and which is what was being imparted in our schools and universities before the libs imposed indoctrination, and political correctness

the article cited is actually a cut above most media efforts in that it actually states a basis from which a contrary polemic can be argued

poindexter

1. any person (usually a nerd or geek) who says useless random facts at random times (usually to random people because they have no friends)

It correctly would be: "The media are out to brainwash us," because media is a plural noun. Not only is your grammar bad, but when you realize how many that plural represents (1,730 daily newspapers in the U.S. alone, thousands of weekly newspapers, more than 10,000 magazines, thousands of TV stations, millions of Web sites, etc.), I can assure you that their collective hundreds of thousands of employees don't all get up in the morning and say, "OK, time to go brainwash some more Americans today," nor is that the corporate policy at all of them.

I notice your definition (labelled as "1") is actually 4th on the page, and it does not sync up well with the other definitions of the term or the common perception of the term. "Poindexter" generally refers to one's physical appearance in addition to their intellect, not their conversational habits.

thanks. no hairdryer. I have it on its side where the water went into the side ports. It didn't land on top of the keyboard on second look. It's sitting on a towel for a few days on its side so the water drains. i really hope it works. i can't afford a new machine. ugh.

You're an idiot. Fewer people would know this if you'd keep your mouth shut concerning subjects about which you're quite ignorant.

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This is bizarre: being told by some guy who goes by HazelGod that correct grammar is incorrect, which apparently means that you also don't know that "media" is a plural noun. There are a number of them: data also is a plural noun, so correct usage would be: "The data are reliable and valid" not "The data is reliable and valid." Check a dictionary or grammar guide, HazelGod, before calling a professional editor (me) an "idiot."